Well, I Have Made A Start...
Rightly or wrongly...(This is complicated)Might be boring(and your eyes will glaze over)or be difficult to follow...
I have cancelled Sky TV which I have been with since 1989. I decided for the amount of TV I watch, it's not worth it! They tried to tempt me to stay but I can save quite a lot of money.
Then I was informed that if I decide to use the box I can still receive quite a lot of channels(TV/Radio)for free and it becomes a Freesat box but I still am leaving it switched off at present because if I do, I don't pay a TV licence and I haven't decided if I can afford or want to pay that.
I am quite happy with the radio and using my computers. And its possible that I may be able to view some TV over the Internet if I go Broadband.
They tried to reduce my bill at Sky and my telephone land line(possibly if I'd included the broadband the offer might not have been that bad and worth having)but not knowing what my finances are like for a few weeks perhaps I still could not afford it. If I go back to Sky, not likely even a basic package may be more expensive for me as apparently my charges at the time of cancelling were frozen and protected.
By not watching TV and being with Sky I've saved over the year...£312 and the TV Licence is £145.50 so together that's £457 annually.
I pay £170 annually for my internet but originally Mum paid the telephone line rental that's £156 annually so now I have to find that to keep online. That's £326 annually to find.
Altogether that's £783 to find and that's without paying electric, gas, food, rent, community charge and rent. And I think they are basics if you are spending a lot of time in your home. Even if you are working you are expected to have a phone or internet access. I think that's around £15.05 per week.
However, I am toying with the idea of joining a new ISP for my internet(If I have chosen wisely)called Plusnet and the line rental is the same £12.99 and approx £7 for the broadband monthly.So that's approx £240 annually and that's a saving of £543 so that working out at £4.61 per week. Now with this offer at Plusnet the first 6 months of broadband are free, so in the first year I save another £42 so that comes down to £198 for the first year. Making it the equivelent of £3.80 a week.
No doubt there will be some restrictions on useage but you can go online midnight to 8am without it affecting your package and allowance between 8am and Midnight.
Also, many phone calls are free or reduced so you can save on calls and as I have stated I have no or few people that I can call so that side of things won't worry me.
I've just got to decide whether to order the package and whether even with all those savings I can afford it. The thought of being internet less frightens me and the thought of just having the radio for entertainment would be hard much as I love it.
Wish I could be allowed to pay a year up front. And then worry about next year later but no ISP likes to do that so its likely they'll say no to that idea. What can you do for as little as 65p per day...you've got to have some pleasure.
Just be my luck that my PC or monitor will pack up and need replacing or repairing. Its all the extra costs that crop up.
Given the choice I'd do without the heating but I cannot do without the electric. I think life is going to be tough...
Once again I may have to ask "Anyone want a lodger?"
I have cancelled Sky TV which I have been with since 1989. I decided for the amount of TV I watch, it's not worth it! They tried to tempt me to stay but I can save quite a lot of money.
Then I was informed that if I decide to use the box I can still receive quite a lot of channels(TV/Radio)for free and it becomes a Freesat box but I still am leaving it switched off at present because if I do, I don't pay a TV licence and I haven't decided if I can afford or want to pay that.
I am quite happy with the radio and using my computers. And its possible that I may be able to view some TV over the Internet if I go Broadband.
They tried to reduce my bill at Sky and my telephone land line(possibly if I'd included the broadband the offer might not have been that bad and worth having)but not knowing what my finances are like for a few weeks perhaps I still could not afford it. If I go back to Sky, not likely even a basic package may be more expensive for me as apparently my charges at the time of cancelling were frozen and protected.
By not watching TV and being with Sky I've saved over the year...£312 and the TV Licence is £145.50 so together that's £457 annually.
I pay £170 annually for my internet but originally Mum paid the telephone line rental that's £156 annually so now I have to find that to keep online. That's £326 annually to find.
Altogether that's £783 to find and that's without paying electric, gas, food, rent, community charge and rent. And I think they are basics if you are spending a lot of time in your home. Even if you are working you are expected to have a phone or internet access. I think that's around £15.05 per week.
However, I am toying with the idea of joining a new ISP for my internet(If I have chosen wisely)called Plusnet and the line rental is the same £12.99 and approx £7 for the broadband monthly.So that's approx £240 annually and that's a saving of £543 so that working out at £4.61 per week. Now with this offer at Plusnet the first 6 months of broadband are free, so in the first year I save another £42 so that comes down to £198 for the first year. Making it the equivelent of £3.80 a week.
No doubt there will be some restrictions on useage but you can go online midnight to 8am without it affecting your package and allowance between 8am and Midnight.
Also, many phone calls are free or reduced so you can save on calls and as I have stated I have no or few people that I can call so that side of things won't worry me.
I've just got to decide whether to order the package and whether even with all those savings I can afford it. The thought of being internet less frightens me and the thought of just having the radio for entertainment would be hard much as I love it.
Wish I could be allowed to pay a year up front. And then worry about next year later but no ISP likes to do that so its likely they'll say no to that idea. What can you do for as little as 65p per day...you've got to have some pleasure.
Just be my luck that my PC or monitor will pack up and need replacing or repairing. Its all the extra costs that crop up.
Given the choice I'd do without the heating but I cannot do without the electric. I think life is going to be tough...
Once again I may have to ask "Anyone want a lodger?"
posted by The Great Gildersleeve | 6:26 pm
19 Comments:
You explained that very well.
I understood it.
You mustn't do without heating, Gildy.
You can cut down though and, when it's cold, wear two jumpers and a fleece, as I do.
Also, if your PC ever breaks down, you can always use the library computers, free of charge (if the library hasn't closed down!)
As for shopping, if you shop in the evening, you'll often find that the price of some fresh food is reduced.
Wait until the dust has settled and everything has been sorted out.
You'll know better, then, how you stand financially.
Then you can ask the lodger question.
Thanks VQ...
I tried to cancel the TV licence and guess what the helpline closes at 6.30pm. Most places stay open until 8pm-9pm.
I'll try again in the morning, they open at 8.30am, even if I decide that I can afford the licence in the future, I'm not covered by Mum's anymore and if I switch the TV on I could be done...
I'll just unplug it from the wall until I see what happens next.
Why are you not covered by your mum's licence? Was she over 75?
If not, I understood that the licence covered the address, not the person.
I assume when the person whose name is on the license is deaseased, it is no longer valid. Yes, she was 86 in February. She'll kill me for saying her age(Sorry she would've)
If it had been a license that had been paid for it would still be valid until it expired.
I suspect that is no longer the case.
In the press notice that will be published tomorrow there is no mention of age, Mum always said she did not want that published. So I obayed her wish.
Once the person who's name is on the license is no longer at that address, then it is no longer valid. You are right in what you say, it was your Mum's as an over 75. So it doesn't include you.
I feel even less positive about my future...
I suspect I'll have to pay full rent and that will be around £100 per week and talking with another person in a similar property they pay £135 community charge each week. So where will I find that kind of money?
If comes out of the savings I get from Mum, it will not last long and that may mean I will be helped again but with the changes coming that is in doubt.
Move to a smaller property, well, there are few if any around here but as I said previously they may do what Newham Council have been doing, trying to move you miles away or to a town that you don't know or have no connection to.
Its frightening!
There is no guarentee I'll keep a roof over my head.
And then one Anon earlier on another post comments that I am negative and always have a half empty glass.
I think that I have reason to be.
If you do give up the license,then be careful if you buy anything related to tv recieving (a TVcard for a computer for example)as these sales are recorded by TV licensing.The TV licensing people just assume every one in the country loves TV and cant do with out it.So they always check why an address is not licensed.
As for internet, then I am considering 'a dongle' that the mobile phone companies supply.They cost about £10 to £15 a month- but your not tied to anything, you just buy the replcement units when you need them, all depends on how good the reception is I suppose?
Gildy, you say someone has told you that they pay £135 per week for Council tax. That cannot be right.
It would add up to more than £7000 per year. Nonsense.
I live in London, in a 3 bedroomed house and the annual Council tax is £1300. Because I am alone, I get a 25% reduction which means I pay about £975 per year - and that's for a three bedroomed, semi detached house.
To pay £7000+, you'd have to be living in Buckingham Palace.
Clearly the other person has got it wrong, so don't get upset about it.
It can't possibly be £135 per week for Council Tax.
Your mother's over-75 licence will cover you at the same address until it's due for renewal; there's a yearly renewal even though there's no fee. So depending on the date of that renewal you'll get anywhere from a day to nearly a year free!
You're probably not ready yet, but at some point it might help you to put your feet up and enjoy some television.
The community charge of £135 can't be weekly -- that must be monthly, and would be reduced if there's only one person in the house.
I don't think you're being negative; I think you're trying to be realistic. Understandably, the shock of the illness and the bereavement has put your mind in a whirl and consequently you're anticipating all the possible troubles that could befall you.
NO-ONE should be pressing you for money at such a time. Only when you have full access to what Mum's left you, THEN you sort out finances, pay for prescriptions, etc. Again, I think it's the anxiety making you over-scrupulous.
Apologies if this comes across like a lecture, but you're suffering so much, and for your sake I just wish you'd take things slowly.
Like many others, I'm thinking of you at this time.
It will be £135 per month - that is what I pay on a two bed in Surrey.
Thank you everyone...
The monthly community charge being paid monthly rather than weekly would make more sense but two people said they paid it weekly and even I found myself thinking that seemed strange.
Probably still difficult to afford but that sounds more plausable.
I do think and can see why some might this house is too big for me but if I could stay put, I'd love to...because of my connections here of over 50+ years, nice area and ease of access to the local shops.
My housing association has been criticised(They don't have a very good reputation)and now you bid for empty properties here and they are allowing people out of the area in and often moving people in the area out...to areas they don't know and have no connection to.
My home is a three bedroom semi detached, If we believe that prices are still cheaper in the North then the South things may be manageable...but everyone next year will see the Community tax rise because even single people that get a discount on what they pay now , this government is reducing the help by 10%.
On the other hand if you don't own your property and rent from the Social sector that charge for unused bedrooms comes in(£13 per room)so I'd have to find an extra £26.
They are determined to get you out but around here smaller properties are very hard to find and I suspect, if you moved you'd still be affected by this charge as few are smaller than two bedrooms. But as little as £13 could be enough to force people out.
I suspect initially I'll have to pay full rent until Mum's savings reduced. Doesn't encourage you to save.
I may be upset at losing Mum but if I thought I could manage(even if things are tight)I'd cope better and my mind would not race ahead.
I'm reasonably calm. I don't like being without Mum but am kind of accepting it, I have no choice.
It will be hard when the funeral happens and coming home afterwards. That's when it will hit the hardest.
And probably on birthdays and special days like Mother's Day, Christmas etc...I have a box of Christmas Crackers here and no one to pull them with. :-(
The TV license, I'll leave the TV switched off at present and avoid phoning to cancel just yet.
If I can watch Freesat, well there's extra channels(not as many as Sky offers)I don't care but that's still better just having the 5 terrestrial channels.
I don't know if Sky's Freesat is different to the Freesat we hear about but they switch off the channels you pay for and leave free to air channels switched on. Radio too...
The TV is old and probably should be replaced(I had plans to)so eventually I better go for a new flat screen one.
When I see how finances are.
It doesn't need to be a massive one. I think the present TV is 21" so something similar will do perhaps 25" would be enough.
I could do with a new sofa etc...I can manage with the furniture I have, I don't entertain, the carpets are old and worn but again there's only me.
I suppose the hardest part of being on a tight budget is replacing or repairing items.
As I said before if I'd been a pensioner, I'd be safer and more likely to be left alone but I have the problem that I have to take Government money so jusmp through hoops and if they keep putting the retirement age back they can force me into their new plans and change of how and/ what they pay.
I hate having to think about money. I was never bothered about money as long as I had enough to heat and be warm and eat well.
I apologise for writing this when your Mother's only been dead a few days , but we all hate having to think about money , however most of us do . Of course you were content being able to be warm & eat well , aren't we all ?.However You've lived with your mother all your life & havn't worked for years. So basically you've done nothing & your Mum has housed & subsidised you. Well welcome to the real world !
Ring up your housing association & get put on the list for a small property. Why should you stay there just because your Mum's house holds all your memories? Most of us have to get a job, leave home, support ourselves & don't have the luxury of always living in the house which holds our childhood memories, neither would we want to, it's called growing up & being independant . If you say you've got no friends,aren't close to your relatives & are quite content with your computer & radio, would it matter where in your town you lived ? or even if you had to move ? Please try & face the world. Most of us have been struggling all our lives & havn't had the luxury of sitting on our bums for the last 20 years doing nothing . Ask the housing association to find you somewhere smaller & then you won't have to pay so much for rent & heating.
I'm sorry, but I think you've been living with your head in the sand all your life & expecting someone else to look after you . Grow a backbone , & please stop complaining , feeling sorry for yourself & expecting someone else to come & bail you out !
You don't know all of my circumstances(and I don't tell everything on here)
I have a serious medical condition that varies from day to day, I have difficulty walking, if I try and do various tasks I will pay for it.
I could find myself heading for dialysis/transplant in the future and have a few times in the past.
I have also nearly passed away myself in the past. I cannot stand for long, walk far, sit for long.
My eyes are also quite bad so I restrict how long I am on the computer.
I know that people are struggling in work/out of work. But now genuinely ill people are concerned about what the future holds.
I have worked and also done voluntary work over the years. I also have attended all the work programmes and jumped through all the hoops when I have had to.
Smaller properties are few but in time you'll probably get your wish for me.
I haven't had my head in the sand and just because we tried to eat well and keep warm that does not necessarily mean that we were "Rolling in it!"
But I'm not going start a slanging match or trying to justify myself...your opinion and view is as valid as anyone...
My Dr's and Consultant know the situation. Even the District Nurse and the social worker know how genuine I am.
You seem to have a dislike for me.
But things will change in the next few months/years...we'll just have to see where we end up. And again you'll probably get you wish.
And I probably will find myself working at some point but it would have to be part time I certainly could not manage a full week. Its likely I'd need the rest of the week to recover.
I'm sure it wouldn't do you any harm to work part time, infact it might even do you good.
http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/faqs/FAQ107/
"The over 75 TV Licence for the current year will continue to cover anybody who was living with the licence holder as part of their household until the TV Licence expires."
You just need to inform them of the situation.
Re staying in the house: have you thought about taking in a lodger yourself? (Not right now, obviously.) It would be very hard on you to leave the family home so soon after being bereaved, and that might be a way round it.
Warm regards.
Anon, I hope you feel better after posting that totally unnecessary comment.
Of course you don't know all the circumstances.
Even if you really feel what you have posted, I'd have thought a little humanity was called for at this time.
You've got me to call!! And I shall certainly be calling you in case I need to send in tinned spam supplies x x a
Did I miss you? Sorry, I went to bed early to keep warm and listen to the radio and...fell asleep. I'm heading back there now, can't see a reason sitting here.
To be honest much as I love the internet I tend to stick to the same sites. And I've seen them already.
Now, I can sit here and listen to the radio playing through the PC's speakers or be warm in bed...I'll take the second option.
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